Fresh job cuts due at Microsoft - report

New York Times claims the axe will fall on jobs in certain areas soon - possibly later today

Microsoft is preparing to make a fresh round of job cuts, according to the New York Times (NYT).

People who claim to have been briefed on the plans but want to remain anonymous told the paper that the cuts could come as early as this afternoon.

Last year, Microsoft announced a massive cull of 18,000 staff but this new round is expected to be in addition to that. According to Microsoft, at the end of its fiscal 2014, it employed around 128,000 staff.

The exact number of staff whose jobs are on the line was not disclosed to the NYT, but the sources said many will come from its hardware group and the Nokia arm of the business.

At the end of last month, in a long email to staff, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella admitted that he would have to make "tough choices" in the future.

Microsoft declined to comment when contacted by CRN.